Terminal-grade text art
Drop in a photo, tune the character width and contrast, pick a character set, then copy or download the result as text, PNG, or a self-contained HTML file.
Your original image preview appears here.
Your ASCII canvas preview appears here.
ASCII text output appears here after upload.
This guide walks through the settings that shape the final ASCII output. Width, character density, contrast, and color mode all change how much detail the converter can preserve.
What to do: Drag an image onto the upload area, or click it to choose a file from your device. Common browser image formats such as PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, and AVIF are supported.
Why: The converter reads the decoded image in your browser, so no file upload is needed and the original image stays local to your device.
Best practice: Start with a clear, well-lit image that has a distinct subject and enough contrast between the foreground and background.
What to do: Set the width to control how many characters appear across the ASCII output.
Why: Narrow output around 60-80 characters creates a chunky retro look, while wider output around 120-160 characters preserves more detail.
Best practice: For portraits, start at width 100-120. For text, icons, and logos, start at width 80-100 so the shape stays readable.
What to do: Choose the character set that matches the style you want before fine-tuning contrast.
Why: Standard gives balanced texture, Detailed makes smoother gradients for photos, Blocks creates a pixel poster effect, Simple is bold and high contrast, Dots feels like a soft halftone, and Binary gives a digital aesthetic.
Best practice: Use Detailed for faces and landscapes, Blocks for graphic poster looks, and Simple or Binary when the image needs to stay legible at small sizes.
What to do: Adjust contrast, then choose Mono, Grayscale, or Color mode.
Why: Contrast controls how shadows and highlights map to characters. Low contrast keeps gradients smooth, while high contrast creates sharper edges. Mono gives classic terminal green, Grayscale adds tonal depth, and Color maps pixel colors into the characters.
Best practice: Increase contrast for logos and silhouettes, lower it for skin tones and soft photos, and use Color only when the original palette is important.
What to do: Copy the ASCII text, or download the result as PNG, TXT, or HTML.
Why: Copy works well for README files, code comments, and chats. PNG creates a shareable image, TXT keeps the output lightweight, and HTML preserves colored ASCII in a self-contained file.
Best practice: Use TXT or Copy for plain monochrome output, PNG for quick sharing, and HTML when you need colored ASCII to look the same outside the tool.
ASCII art recreates images using text characters instead of pixels. Dark areas use dense characters like @ % #, while bright areas use lighter marks like : . and spaces.
This tool converts photos into ASCII by sampling each area of the image, measuring its brightness, and picking a matching character from the chosen set. The result is still text, but the character density preserves the shape, shadows, and highlights of the source image.
Everything runs in your browser with the Canvas API. Your image is not uploaded, and no server is needed for the conversion.
Developers use ASCII art to add branded headers to GitHub README files. Paste the output directly into your markdown.
Stand out with a custom text-art avatar or signature on Reddit, Discord, or Twitch. ASCII art renders consistently across all devices.
Add a retro welcome banner to your terminal startup, SSH MOTD, or CLI tool logo. Monochrome mode works perfectly here.
Hide a small ASCII graphic in your code comments. A neat surprise for anyone reading your source.
Export as PNG for T-shirt designs, posters, stickers. The block character set creates a pixel-art effect that works well at scale.
ASCII art is an image recreated with text characters. Darker pixels use denser characters, while brighter pixels use lighter characters or spaces.
No. Files are read and converted in your browser with Canvas, so your images stay on your device.
Modern browsers support common image formats such as PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, and AVIF. Animated images use the decoded browser frame.
Yes. The converter is free to use, with copy, TXT, PNG, and HTML downloads available directly from the page.
Monochrome maps everything to the accent green (classic terminal style). Grayscale keeps the tonal range in black and white. Color mode maps the actual pixel colors onto each character. Color works best for HTML exports.
The tool does not add any watermark or claim ownership. Usage rights depend on the source image you uploaded. If you own the image, the ASCII output is yours to use.
Images with clear subjects, strong contrast between foreground and background, and even lighting produce the most readable results. Busy or very dark images may need higher contrast and wider width settings.
The tool reads pixel brightness from the source image, then maps each pixel to a character in the selected set based on its luminance value. Contrast and width change how many brightness levels are preserved.